The 9 most important transfers not named Colton Joseph for Wisconsin football
Sorry, QB1. We all know the immense value of a good starting signal caller is. Here are other transfers who have a shot to be real difference makers for the Badgers this season.
We all know how a team’s fortune can change, and in particular, the University of Wisconsin football program’s case, when it doesn’t have its starting quarterback for extended stretches of time. That’s haunted the tenure of coach Luke Fickell’s with the Badgers during his first three seasons in Madison. So hey, if there’s guarded optimism with the arrival of Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph this offseason, that’s very understandable.
Joseph and his dual-threat abilities (2,624 yards passing, 1,007 yards rushing in 2025) will undoubtedly be the most important transfer for Wisconsin entering its 2026 season. His arm talent and keeping defenses honest carrying the rock will be needed to turn around the Badgers’ offense after an injury-filled and unproductive first season under offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes.
But Wisconsin signed 34 other transfers since the winter offseason who will not only supplement but improve several position groups as well. Badger Observer continues its fall camp previews with a look at nine transfers, in alphabetical order by last name, who could make the most impact outside of Joseph in 2026.
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Safety Marvin Burks Jr.
Gone are Austin Brown (to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts) and Preston Zachman (Indiana). Returning to Jack Cooper’s group is redshirt senior safety Matt Jung, who was thrusted into a baptism-by-fire situation at the Power Four level as he filled in plenty for an injured Zachman last season.
Burks brings starting experience from the SEC, where he tallied 131 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions and five passes defended in 39 games at Missouri (25 of them starts).
Jung and Burks received first-team reps alongside one another this spring, and director of football strength and conditioning Brady Collins said both were among the plays to run 4.5 40-yard dash times.
“As soon as we met (Burks) in the portal and gotten to talk to him, the reps in the SEC, in big-time environments, gives him confidence that, ‘Yeah, Coach, I got that,’” safeties coach Jack Cooper said in April. “And I think that helps guys be able to play at a high level next to him, because he does have that kind of aura about him.
“And again, I think at that position, and you see it in college football right now with the portal, having proof of proof of concept and having reps, especially at that position, they have problems solved. So I think when it comes to checks and adjustments and the offense putting us through stress and different things they’re doing, he’s already kind of been through it. It might have been called ‘Pizza’ at the other school, but we just have a different name for it, right? So again, making sure that we can marry up language, but he does a great job of coaching. I’ve already had reps like, how do the two of us meet halfway on the learning and the teaching? So again, he can be a huge asset for us.”
